Hello World - It Begins with You

It's been a while since a song connected with me the way John Legend's If You're Out There did (it became a theme song for our 2008 PASC State Conference). That song was powerful by itself but tied into the experience of planning and experiencing that conference, it moves me every time.

Recently though, "Positive Power" Chad Koontz pointed out Hello World by Aloe Blacc and I keep listening to it over and over. Again, the song is powerful alone. It's filled with similar themes as If You're Out There and has these vocals and rhythms that just pull you in - you can't ignore the song.

As an educator, I connect to the message about potential, about making the most of life and about the power of relationships. The video was effective, using basic stereotypes and common perceptions to shade the lyrics of the song in a slightly different direction.

Hello world, the past is over
It's time for us to come together and make the future right

And

Hello world, the sun is rising
It doesn't matter who you are, the sun still sets the same
Hello world, undivided
Don't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game 

[Chorus]
The world is ours
The world is ours
Seven billion stars

Starting another school year brings one meaning to the song and then watching the events in Ferguson adds even greater urgency to the feelings it stirs.

So to all who remember: Origins, It Begins with You... Vision, Character, Change.

Purpose

Welcoming our new teachers this morning, as I begin year 19 of teaching physics and 13 years in SWEA leadership, humbled me.

When I was hired, principals needed to woo the teacher they wanted. Today, teachers take pay cuts if experienced and first-year teachers face uncertainty. And yet there they were - new South Western teachers. Full of enthusiasm, determination, professional knowledge and, for several, experience.

They will need it. Students today have more access to information and are able to communicate more easily than ever before and yet it seems they struggle, more than ever, to find purpose, relevance, and meaning in the world. How do we, as teachers, balance the external demands with the internal reality of what our students need most. Teachers are not paid for their time but rather for the continuous stream of decisions that must be made every day so that we do what is best, what is just. This decision making is both professional and personal, involving head and heart. There is no way to know what a teacher goes through daily - unless you are a teacher.

And so, I was humbled by those new teachers today. Humbled because teaching was different just 19 years ago. Humbled because America always spoke with reverence about teachers, 19 years ago. Humbled because these dynamic, intelligent professionals had so many choices of careers that would have elevated their status and supported a loftier lifestyle.

I am humbled because they have decided that purpose matters most and damn the rest.